Foundation construction



June 3, 1930. D. w. WELLS FOUNDATION CONSTRUCTION Filed June 1, 1927 Illllllll Patented June 3, 1930 PATENT oFFice u irsn s'r rEs DON W. WELLS, OF EL GEN-THO, CALIFSRNIA, ASSIGNOR 013 ONEJTOURTH TO GEORGE W.

ANDERSON, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, ONE FOUBTH TO RAY EDGAR, AND ONE FOUR-TH TO JOHN STEVJART ROSS, BOTHI OF EL OENTEO, CALIFORNIA f 'FOUNDATEON cons'rnucrron [Application filed June 1,

This invention relates to a foundation con struction for buildings. While the invention may be employed in the construction of foundations for buildings in any locality, the

invention is especially applicable in regions a simple construction Which will provide a" flexible support thatwill'have ample strength to support the weight on the column but which will absorb any lateral movements of the earth during an earthquake, that'is tosay, prevent their being imparted to the buildinq.

Further objects ot-thc invention will appear hereinafter.

The invention consists of the novel parts and combination of parts to be described hereinafter, all of whiclr'contribute to produce an etiicient foundation construction A preferred embodiment of the invention its described in the followingspecification, while the broad scope of the invention is pointed out in the appendedclaims.

' In the drawings: Figure 1 isa side elevation of a foundation construction embodying my invention, the upper portion ofthe column being 'broken away; 7 r 1 Figure 2 is a plan of the parts shown in Figure 1, the column being shown" in cross on,- c

Figure 3 is a vertical section through the foundation construction, taken about on the line 33 of Figure 2. y i

Figure t is a horizontal oross-sectiontaken about on the line 4 4: of- Figure 3.

' 1 Figure 5 is a side elevation and partial section illustrating another embodiment of the invention in which a single suspension rod is'employed I i d igure' 6 is adi'agrammatic view indicatin;- therelation of the legs of two tripods which are included in the construction shown in Figure 5. a W 1' 192'? Serial No. 195,670.

In practicing the invention, I provide a.

base 1 which is preferably in the form ofa pedestal that tapers slightly in-an upward direction, being provided with a flange2 at its lower end to receive foundation bolts 3 that may be set in a foundation 4 otcement or similar material.

A crosshead 5 is provided, together, with means for supporting this crosshead from the head 6 of the pedestal in such a Way that lateralshocks in an earthquake will notbe, nnparted to the building supported on such crossheads. In order to accomplish this, I prefer to support the crosshead on a plurality of suspension members or swing members 7 that may be in the form offlexible steel rods, the upper ends of which are connected to the head 6 of the pedestal and the lower ends connected to the crossheads. V

The connections at the ends of the rods 7 are ncfcrably flexible connoclicms, althougl'i this not essential. For this purpose at the;

upper end of the pedestal each rod 7 passes through an enlarged opening 8 in the pedestal head and also through a sin'iilar enlarged opening; 9 in a collar 1.0 which rests on the upper'face of the head. (5; the upper face of this column is slightly dished so that it forms a seat for a pluralityof balls 11, said balls be-- ing received in a retaining collar 12 uponwhich a nut 13 rests. This nut seatsaga nst the upper-face of the collar 12. In this way,

I virtually provide a ball-bearing joint that Permits .tree SWJDQJIIQ' m wen1entof the lower end of the rod 7 at this point.

A similar joint 14 may be )i'ovided at the" lower end of each rodT. at which point, the

tion which is formed at the upper end of: the

rod. In this way I provide a flexible support or swing for the supporting structure capable of lateral n'lorcnicnt when an earth shock occurs 7 I On the crosshead 5 an ordinary column 16 is sluiported. For this .pin'posethe colunul may be provided with a flange 17, with bolts 18 to secure it to the crosshead.

The pedestal may be of any desired form in plan. However, I prefer to make the pedestal substantially triangular in plan, and construct it so that three of the suspending bars 7 may be employed. I prefer to use only three suspendin chains, cables, rods, or bars, because this gives the support the greatest amount of flexibility, with safety, and also gives the construction substantially an equal amount of flexibility for any given direction in which the lateral shock may come.

On the columns such as column 16, the beams and roof of the building can be supported in the regular way.

In order to make the construction perfectly safe in case the long bolts or rods 7 should give way, I prefer to provide the foundation 4 with a foot 19 that extends up to a point near the under side of the crosshead 5. At this point a narrow gap 20 is formed. In practice this gap should not be greater than one-thirty-second of an inch.

Vith this constr ction it will be evident that if the rods 7 should fail under the tensile forces at any time, the crosshead would simply settle down through a thirty-second of an inch untilits under side rested on the upper face of the foot 19. In practice the foot 19 may be surmounted by a block 21 of metal or similar material which can be finished to the proper dimension to allow the desired amount of clearance in the gap 20. However, this clearance can be adjust/ctv as desired by adjusting the nuts 13 on the threads of the rods.

I prefer to provide the side of the pedestal with a handholc 22 through which a gauge may be inserted, when desired, to measure the width of the gap 20. This may be done as a precaution from time to time.

Where the loads are light, I may support the columns on a single suspension bar.

Such a construction is illustrated in Figures 5 and 6. In this construction I provide a suitable mounting for a single bar between the supported column and the foundation. An example of such a construction is illustrated in Figure 5 in which I provide a base tripod 25, the legs 25, 25 and 25 resting upon the foundation 26. This tripod supports a substantially circular head 27 through which a suspension rod :28 passes. The upper end of this suspension rod passes through collars 29 such as the collars 10 and 12 already described in connection with Figures 1 and 3, the construction being such that the suspension rod is supported on the head 27 in such a way that it is free to swing laterally at its lower end.

I also provide an upper tripod 30 having three legs 30", 30 and 30, the upper ends of which are secured to a beam or floating foot 31 upon which columns such as the column 32 may be mounted.

The lower end of the tripod 30 carries a head 83 through which the lower end of the extension rod 28 extends. Below the head 33 collars 3e are provided similar to the collars illustrated in Figures 1 and 3.

It will be noted that the legs of the upper tripod are disposed between the legs of the lower tripod so as to permit free movement of the tripods relative to each other in case an earthquake shock occurs.

In this embodiment of the invention the upper head 27 of the lower tripod is provided with a block 35 in the form of a cylinder. The upper end of this cylinder is disposed a slight distance below the beam or floating foot 31 so that a gap 36 is formed at this pomt which may be about of an inch wide. If the suspension rod 28 fails, the floating foot or beam 31 would simply settle down onto the block 35.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in Figures 1 and 3 handholes similar to the handhole 22 may be provided if desired to give access to the nuts and collars at the lower ends of the suspension rods.

It is understood that the embodiment of the invention described herein is only one of the many embodiments this invention may take, and I do not wish to be limited in the practice of the invention, nor in the claims, to the particular embodiment set forth.

lVhat I claim is:

1. In a foundation construction for build ings and the like, the combination of a base in the form of a pedestal constructed to be supported on the ground, a crosshead within the pedestal, a plurality of tension bars supported on the upper end of the pedestal extending down through the same and supporting the said crosshead, and a column supported on the crosshead.

2. In a foundation construction for buildings and the like, the combination of a base in theform of a pedestal constructed to be supported on the ground, a crosshead within the pedestal, a plurality of tension rods supported on the upper end of the pedestal, extending down through the same and supporting the said crosshead, a column supported on the crosshead, and flexible joint-s at the points of connection of the rods with the pedestal and the crosshead.

3. In a foundation construction for buildings and the like, the combination of a base supported on the ground, a cross-head, suspending means for supporting the cross-head from the base, and a column supported on the cross-head.

4. In a foundation construction for buildings and the like, the combination of a base constructed to be supported on the ground, a cross-head, suspending means consisting of a plurality of substantially vertical elongated tension members for supporting the crossheed on the base, and a column supported on the cross-head.

5. In a foundation construction for buildings and the like, the combination of a base constructed to be supported on the ground, a cross-head, a plurality of elongated tension members for supporting the cross-head on the base, a column supported on the cross-head, 10 and a foot supported on the ground with its upper face disposed close to the under side of the cross-heed.

Signed at 'El Centro, California, this 21stday of May, 1927. 15 DON W. WVELLS. 

